Why gays serving openly in the military is a non-issue.

Bret Stephens; 10/2/10

There are some excellent arguments for ending the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. And there are some lousy ones. Leave it to the people who mistake moral preening for thought to make the lousiest ones of all. For instance: ending the policy is the great civil-rights cause of our time. As compared to what? On the scale of moral precedence, “don’t ask, don’t tell” is trivial compared to the abuse of women in the Muslim world, or of political dissidents in Cuba, or of homosexuals in Iran, or of American children in inner-city public schools; the support of Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen for ending the policy is the last word on the matter. The argument might have been more convincing if Adm. Mullen hadn’t located his conscience at this moment of maximum political convenience, after saying he’d served alongside homosexuals since 1968.